General Rules:Any diabolo may be used for the ladder tricks, you may change diabolos or sticks after any attempt. All tricks must end with a spinner on the string, the strings untangled, and the diabolo in control. Players get one attempt at each trick. Players score is determined as follows: When a player has missed a second trick, the player is retired and the score is the last trick completed/first trick missed. This division will be divided into age groups as follows: 11 & under, 12 - 16, 17 & over

Note:Many of these trick descriptions have been written for the right hand as the dominant hand. All tricks may be done by using the left hand as the dominant hand.

Tie Breakers:Player who went furthest (last trick completed) on Ladder, or if still a tie, Player who went furthest on Ladder before first miss. If still a tie or more than one player completes the Ladder with no misses, then the tie breaker will be the amount of whip catches that can be completed without added spin to the diabolo.

1. Spinner (5 seconds)Start the diabolo and have it spin for 5 seconds with your sticks still.

5. High toss and catchToss the diabolo and catch it on the string. Diabolo must be tossed higher then your head.

6. Orbits (3 times)Move the diabolo on the string from one side to the other. Toss the diabolo as it nears one stick. Catch the diabolo near the other stick, allowing it to move on the string to begin the next Orbit.http://www.diabolotricks.com/Terms.htm

7. BacksideToss the diabolo. Sweep the string coming from one stick over the axle and under the diabolo. After doing this the string will be crossed in the same way as if you caught the diabolo cross handed. Any dismount. http://www.diabolotricks.com/Terms.htm#backside

8. Flea Bounce/Trampoline Over Head (5 times)Lift the string up above your head with the diabolo spinning. Hold the string tight and horizontal. Push the diabolo up slightly to make it bounce.

10. ElevatorWrap the string around the axle of the diabolo with one stick. Raise one stick high and pull down with the other stick. Have the diabolo climb at least two thirds of the string. Any dismount.http://www.diabolotricks.com/Climbstring.htm

11. Behind the back catchToss the diabolo and catch it on the string behind your back.

12. Cat's cradleYou can get into and out of the Cat's Cradle anyway you want. In a cat's cradle the strings creates an X. After the cradle has been made, with the diabolo below the cradle, toss the diabolo up and catch it on top of the cradle. End with any dismount.http://www.diabolotricks.com/Cradles.htm#catscradle

19. Neck trampoline (4 bounces)Either place the diabolo string around your neck with the diabolo on the string, or hop the diabolo off the string, wrap the string around your neck, and catch the diabolo. Bounce the diabolo from string to string 4 times. Any dismount.http://www.diabolotricks.com/Extras.htm#headhop

20. Grind Pass Start grinding on one stick and pass the diabolo to the other stick for a grind and then back to the string.

21. Magic Knot/SpaghettiA series of warps ending in a release. Point the left stick right and raise horizontally. With right stick, wrap (from back) over stick. Wrap (from right) under axle. Wrap (from front) over stick. Wrap (from left) under axle. Slowly pull sticks apart to almost normal position. Toss diabolo up between sticks and pull sticks releasing string loops and diabolo. Catch diabolo. http://www.diabolotricks.com/Knots.htm#spaghetti

23 Coffee grinder (3 grinds)Do a back side or recapture mount. Move the left stick above the diabolo horizontally. Move the right stick so its string moves behind the left stick and lays just ahead of the handle. Pull right stick toward you making a triangle. Keeping the right stick parallel to ground and axle, 'poke' it into triangle below. Move the right stick out against the right side of triangle and then into a clockwise movement under the diabolo and around back. This is the grind of coffee grinder. Do 3 grinds and end with any dismount.http://www.diabolotricks.com/Cgrinders.htm#coffeegrinder

25. Loop and hook whip catchPut both stick handles in one hand. Split the string with your other hand, toss the diabolo up and catch in on the doubled string. Place string loop end over the sticks' ends. Throw the diabolo up for a snap release. Catch diabolo with a whip catch. Any whip catch is ok.http://www.diabolotricks.com/Loopers.htm#loopandhookwhipcatch

28. Figure-8 around both arms (3 reps - 1 rep is around both arms)Place the string under elbows. Toss the diabolo over one arm and then over the other arm in a figure 8 pattern.

29. Duicide Begin like a suicide but let go of both sticks so they do a full circle and catch them again.

30. Infinite Suicide (3 reps)Wrap the string around the axle of the diabolo with your right stick. As you go underneath the diabolo, let go of the left stick. As the left stick gets about 180 degrees around tug the right stick upwards and rewrap the diabolo. Do 3 repetitions and catch the left stick. Any dismount.

There will proabbaly not be videos available this year to demonstrate these tricks. However, please use the web links provided or e-mail me to help learn the tricks.

Thank Yous...

I want to thank Bob Maloney for being supportive from the very beginning. Without his support this exhibition could not have happened.

No offense intended, but I'm sure if that is the intended trick ladder then you'll end up with quite a number of completely dropless runs. I know that many diaboloists who read this forum could literally do the entire list with their eyes closed, it really is that basic. Have you even looked at some of the videos posted to this forum?

That's what i said to Arron when he gave me the list a while back.But remember, it's a yo-yo contest, so they wont ALL be awesome diabolists. Plus it would be fun to see loads of people do whip catches for ages without speeding up the diabolos.

Note to organisers... Don't let anyone use spinabolo, or any other bearings diabolo (especially for the tie-breaker).

No offense intended, but I'm sure if that is the intended trick ladder then you'll end up with quite a number of completely dropless runs. I know that many diaboloists who read this forum could literally do the entire list with their eyes closed, it really is that basic. Have you even looked at some of the videos posted to this forum?

I appeiciate your comments, and I agree with them. Most of the players entering this trick ladder will be yo-yoers, who are beginner or intermediate diabolo players. I do realize that the list is very easy, but hopefully the tricks will get more diffiult as the yoyo community gets better at diabolos.

I'll be interested to hear how this competition turns out. For yo-yo competitions, the trick ladder system has long been established as a fun and fair way of getting people involved, almost regardless of skill level. It seems to work not so much because of the technical difficulty/complexity of each trick, but because nerves and pressure can so easily affect such a small prop.

As I mentioned to Stu when I returned a response to his e-mail, I've no real idea as to whether the system will work effectively for diabolos too. As such, I guess the only thing to do is to try it out and see what happens. Perhaps it would be helpful to record and publish stats detailing exactly what stage of the ladder people had reached? And whether the tie-breaker, if it happens at all, actually works (I notice it's been improved since the original version ;0) ).

Guy

BTW, has anyone thought of doing a diabolo version of the F.A.S.T challenge?

i agree with Luke completely. all of these tricks are tricks that a beginner can learn in a week, or a month at max.

in any case, i don't see how this can be interesting at all. the tricks are so simple...Guy, i'd rather see you freestyle or show off something original than watch beginners do 30 simple tricks. hell, when i first pick up the diabolo and start warming up, i skip most of those tricks because they are too easy.

also, Matt (boxthor) is one of my good friends whom i actually know. i asked him about it on AIM and he actually said this:

I'll be interested to hear how this competition turns out. For yo-yo competitions, the trick ladder system has long been established as a fun and fair way of getting people involved, almost regardless of skill level. It seems to work not so much because of the technical difficulty/complexity of each trick, but because nerves and pressure can so easily affect such a small prop.

That is very well put!! This trick list is a way to get people involved with diabolos. It is not ment to be for expert players.

I envision a contest in the future with freestyles as the criteria for establishing a winner of the contets. What do people think aboutt that idea?

Quote from: GbH

BTW, has anyone thought of doing a diabolo version of the F.A.S.T challenge?

in any case, i don't see how this can be interesting at all. the tricks are so simple...Guy, i'd rather see you freestyle or show off something original than watch beginners do 30 simple tricks. hell, when i first pick up the diabolo and start warming up, i skip most of those tricks because they are too easy.

I agree... but this is a trick ladder for begginers and intermediates. A freestyle contets would be must more fun and challenging.

Quote from: Matt_

also, Matt (boxthor) is one of my good friends whom i actually know. i asked him about it on AIM and he actually said this:

Boxthor: We don't expect any real diaboloists to show up

well, i guess i'm not going then

Matt (Boxthor) is probably right. Though there will be a lot of yo-yoers who aslo diabolo well at the contest. And your presence at the contest, MAtt_ , would give others a chance to see an experienced diabolo player.

Well if you are going on how many whip catches can be done without speeding it up (which, by the way, is far more sensible than amount in one throw ) Then a bearinged (is that a word?) diabolo has a significantly unfair advantage, dont you think?

Oh and by the way, although i'd love to see more, the WJF diabolo comp is marked a lot on performance, aswell as styles of play, tricks, and difficulty, etc..

Well if you are going on how many whip catches can be done without speeding it up (which, by the way, is far more sensible than amount in one throw ) Then a bearinged (is that a word?) diabolo has a significantly unfair advantage, dont you think?

Yes. A bearing diabolo spins longer and you can do more tricks with them. But if you let everyone have a choice to use one or not, then it is fair. I think.

Quote from: norbi

Oh and by the way, although i'd love to see more, the WJF diabolo comp is marked a lot on performance, aswell as styles of play, tricks, and difficulty, etc..

The Yo-Yo Freestyles in most competitions are marked on performace, styles, tricks, accuracy, and difficulty. I am used to that format.

iin any case, i don't see how this can be interesting at all. the tricks are so simple...Guy, i'd rather see you freestyle or show off something original than watch beginners do 30 simple tricks. hell, when i first pick up the diabolo and start warming up, i skip most of those tricks because they are too easy.

I think you're completely missing the point here. Even in yo-yo competitions, trick ladders aren't used as a way of testing the elite - there are quite separate freestyle competitions for that. Instead, the trick ladder system is a great way of getting beginners and intermediates actively participating in something that's fun and challenging. It's also a good way of helping people structure their learning programme and, if done well, can encourage people to broaden their range of skills.

As far as I know, there are very few openings that allow newbie diabolo players to actively take part in something that takes account of their interests and abilities. In the UK right now, if you're not yet up to performing on a convention stage, then 'high throw' or 'diabolo in the bucket' are pretty much the only direct participation activities on offer from the scene itself. In this respect, the yo-yo scene is way in front - it offers far more encouragement to people that are still learning their craft.

As such, I applaud Stu for deciding to try something new and with a more inclusive appeal.

Oh - and one final thing. At some of the UK yo-yo contests, we've had a trick ladder section for the 'beginners' and a freestyle section for the 'advanced'. On at least one occasion, we've apologied to the assembled audience in advance, telling them that the trick ladder might well seem simple and boring - only to find that they actually like watching it BETTER than the freestyles. This was certainly a surprise to me when it first happened, but thinking about it afterwards, I can now see how the simple like-for-like nature of it can be understood and appreciated by anyone. Will the same thing happen for diabolo? You never know until you try...

Oh - I just remembered one more thing (though I'm sure Stu already knows this). Trick ladders work MUCH better when there are two or three contestants on stage, working through the list at the same time.

Hmm, some mixed responses here. But let's not cut the guy down too quickly. I guess it's nice to see a format for competitions that even beginners can participate in and it does work well for yoyo comps as I've seen. Although I thought the National Yoyo Association had beginner, intermediate and advanced trick ladders too. Reminds me of a favoured convention game in my opinion of Best Trick (not combination, just one trick). Does sound well planned out though even if the tricks do seem basic (that figure 8 round the arms is tricky for me). Though I remember when I was big into yoyo and looking at a basic A Style Trick Ladder, I couldn't do some of the tricks (shooting the moon always stung.)

As for diaboloist at yoyo comps, I thought quite a few turned up, especially at japanese comps, some awesome diaboloists there.Hope it goes well though, and yeah have everyone line up in a kind of knock-out endurance.

If you look at Yo-Yo or Diabolo competition videos, you'll notice that all the players are top-notch, on their game, and even seasoned players who have been practicing for years are impressed.

This simply doesn't exist at Yo-yo competitions regarding diabolos.

The whole point of the Diabolo competition at US Yo-Yo Nationals is to get people who came for a yo-yo contest interested in Diabolo. They're slowly starting to grow in popularity at yo-yo contests, but a majority of players are still new.

This isn't an "attract diabolo players from around the nation and watch them compete against each other" event. It's a small little "Hey, you yo-yo, or you're in the area to see the yo-yo contest, here is a thing called a Diabolo, here are some tricks, see how many you can do, and if it's a lot, you might win a prize" type thing.

I know Diabolo players can do these tricks easily, probably all blindfolded and on one throw. I doubt any of them are going to show up anyway.

As far as I know, this isn't even going to be on the main stage. Like the yo-yo and spintop ladder competitions, they're on side stages in the middle of the day, before the yo-yo freestyles (The main thing people show up for, besides socializing). If we WERE to have a freestyle division, I wouldn't expect the top 3 players to be any better at diabolo than most of the members here are at yo-yo (save the people I know from the yo-yo community) unless some diabolo people showed up out of the blue.

While these may seem like easy tricks, look at the F.A.S.T Challenge in Yo-Yoing. It's probably the best thing to happen to any skill toy in a long time, in terms of spreading popularity.

You do 10 of the simplest tricks possible on yoyos, as fast as possible. Any yoyoer can do these tricks, but that doesn't matter. The point is that someone who has never touched a yoyo before can learn the tricks in less than 10 minutes, and have fun competeing. They're not going to win, but they're enjoying themselves, which is the only reason we have any yo-yo contest to begin with. It's also starting another yo-yo boom in popularity, hopefully it'll be as big as back when people were complaining about yo-yos being banned from their school =P